NCFA Canada | Craig Asano | Sep 30, 2014

TORONTO, ON Sep 30, 2014 – The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) today announced that Gil Michel-Garcia, CEO of WAFU Inc., has joined the Association’s Crowdfunding Ambassadors Program.

NCFA Canada Crowdfunding Ambassadors

Crowdfunding Ambassadors (CFAs) are leaders, educators, supporters and advocates of an inclusive and broad-based crowdfunding industry in communities across Canada. They are circles of influence and ‘go to resources’ for small businesses and investors to connect with, share and learn about crowdfunding via locally hosted events and initiatives. CFAs are specialists and plugged into an international network of shared resources, thought leadership, and industry professionals striving to cultivate and shape the future of crowdfunding in Canada and beyond.

“Gil is a pioneering Canadian and Quebec leader in the equity crowdfunding space with the added benefit of being a securities lawyer by trade. We're thrilled to have Gil's support and cross-border expertise/experience in raising capital in the US as a Canadian company ,” said Craig Asano, Executive Director of NCFA Canada

Gil Michel-Garcia, CEO of Wafu Inc.

Gil Michel-Garcia is co-founder and CEO of WAFU Inc. (www.wafu.ca), a Montreal based company which develops, produces and distributes a line of Japanese dressings and mayos under the WAFU® brand name.

Gil has more than fifteen years of global corporate legal and business experience, which he acquired as a corporate securities lawyer at leading international law firms in Montreal (Blue HF and Stikeman Elliott LLP), and New York and London (Clifford Chance LLP & Schwartz LLC). Gil’s corporate legal and business background includes extensive experience with cross-border private debt and equity offerings by foreign companies in the United States, as well as venture capital and private equity transactions. During the last 15 years, Gil has helped more than 100 Canadian and other non-US companies to raise in excess of $10 billion in private placements from investors in the United States.

As CEO of WAFU, Gil has helped WAFU to raise more than $1 million from accredited investors in the United States and Canada, including $230,000 through the first ever U.S. accredited investor equity crowdfunding offering over the internet by a Canadian company. Most recently, Gil helped WAFU to launch the first ever simultaneous cross-border (US/Canada) Rule 506(c) / Reg. S accredited investor equity crowdfunding offering by a Canadian company.

A fervent believer in the potential transformative power of equity crowdfunding for small businesses, Gil sits on the board of Invest Crowdfund Quebec, an organization working for the adoption and promotion of equity crowdfuding in Quebec, and also recently agreed to act as a Crowdfunding Ambassador for the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada in the Province of Quebec.

“I believe that accredited investor equity crowdfunding is the best way for small fast growing companies like WAFU to raise $1 to $2 million in capital while at the same time increasing the recognition and geographic penetration of their brand and their products. For us equity crowdfunding is not just about the money, it's also about turning customers into shareholders” -- Gil Michel-Garcia

Gil holds a B.A. in Economics from McGill University, an M.Sc. in Economics from the Colegio de Mexico and a Juris Doctor degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law, and is a member of the New York Bar and the Barreau du Quebec.

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The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Increase your organization’s profile and gain access to a dynamic group of industry front runners. Learn more About Us |About Crowdfunding or contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org.

Source: NCFA Canada

For more information please contact:

Media Contact
Craig Asano
NCFA Canada
Executive Director
p. (416) 618-0254
e. casano@ncfacanada.org